In order to evaluate and improve seismic capacity of existing buildings ‘ seismic safety evaluation’ and ‘ retrofitting’ are very important tasks. Engineers make these evaluations with different methods, from too simple to too sophisticated ones. The presented method combines experimental data and engineering knowledge for evaluation of the seismic safety factors and expected structural performance under strong events. It makes distinction between the structures with problems and those without problems and is a quick way to check the behavior of structures against expected seismic demands. The method could also be used for choice of the optimal strengthening method and for verification of the quality of performed strengthening works. Proposed methodology can be considered as a useful engineering tool to provide a base for the planning of measures of restoration and reinforcement and to check their success. It roughly covers three vulnerability assessment levels required in the EC8: general stability, strength capacity and lateral displacements capacity.

Civil engineering